


October 4th Portable

by PrinceSnoozy



Series: Persona 3 AU [2]
Category: Persona 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mostly Fluff, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, because Minako is magic, because there might be smut later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-10 08:20:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6975217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSnoozy/pseuds/PrinceSnoozy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Portable (Minako) version of my October 4th AU fic, where Akihiko died on October 4th instead of Shinjiro. This time no one dies. No one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Waking Up

**Author's Note:**

> I call this therapy for what I'm going through with the other one. Also, I skipped the actual October 4th scene mainly because I didn't want to go through it again, and I thought it'd work better if I just used exposition.

Shinjiro opened his eyes, and all was white and bright. He winced, swinging a heavy arm over his face, letting out a sigh as he realized just how groggy he was. His fingers rubbed his eyes, and the irritating beeping of a heart monitor nearby sent pain through his already-throbbing head.

"Morning, sunshine."

The voice startled him, and he took his hand away from his face, trying (and failing) to sit up. His eyes landed on a girl sitting on the side of his bed, a playful smile on her face.

"Minako," he rasped, instinctively reaching out for her arm without even realizing it.

"Well you know who I am, that's a good sign~," she teased, grasping his hand in her much-warmer hands.

"What... happened...?" he asked, punctuated by light coughing.

"You're in the hospital," she replied.

"I can tell that much, I meant with Aki..."

"Oh, yeah, he got shot."

That much he knew and remembered, his last memory before now of a gunshot and Akihiko falling to the ground. Then, it had abruptly gone dark.

"Is he..." He couldn't finish the sentence, the raw fear in his eyes visibly taking Minako by surprise.

"Oh, he's fine!" she smiled, waving her hand around. "He's probably annoying some nurse right now, actually, trying to sneak out and sit in here when he's supposed to be resting himself. No offense, but your friend's kind of an idiot."

Shinjiro chuckled a bit, the relief washing over him for a moment before dread formed in his gut. He tried to sit up again, but a sharp pain hit his abdomen and head at the same time, and he winced and held the back of his head with his hand.

"What the shit..." he growled, laying back. "I remember getting shot, too, but what the hell hit my head..."

Minako suddenly grew quiet, a sheepish smile on her face as she raised her hand up. He stared at her, dryly, then narrowed his eyes.

"....Minako."

"Yeah, that was me, I did that."

"You hit me?! With what?!"

"My naginata... Well the shaft of it, anyway."

He couldn't even get a word out in response; he just stared at her, absolutely baffled. She shrugged, and her smile widened.

"Hey," she continued, "if I didn't, then your Persona would've gone crazy again and people might actually be dead!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember??"

"No."

"Oh. Well, Akihiko-senpai got shot and went down, and then you got all angry-faced as soon as I showed up, then you hunched over like you did during the operation in September, so I figured since when one of us falls unconscious our Personas can't be summoned that I could just hit you in the head and we wouldn't have to worry about it. And I was RIGHT."

She smiled brightly as she explained it, gesturing around with her hands in that animated style that drew him to her in the first place. He smirked, finding himself forgiving her a lot quicker simply because she was smiling.

"So you hit me in the back of the head?" he asked, that smirk on his face.

"Hey now, it was better than taking those pills Akihiko-senpai told us about!"

"That's... that's a good point," he conceded, shaking his head.

"On that note, were you really going to just die and not tell anyone about it?"

His eyes grew wide and shot over to her, finding that her expression had suddenly grown serious. He swallowed hard, his mouth and throat suddenly dry.

"I..." His voice trailed off, causing him to reassess his thoughts. "I tried to tell you before, but..."

"Well you weren't being very clear!" she scolded, leaning toward him on the hospital cot. "I just thought you were going to try to leave the team again because you got sick of everyone... or just me, because I'm not a very good leader..." She looked down at her hands as her voice trailed off.

"Shut up," he groaned, pushing up on his far arm so he could take his hand away from hers and touch her face. "Don't talk about shit like that, you're not a bad leader, and I didn't get sick of you. The opposite actually..."

_To the point that I was having second thoughts._

"But I annoy you and--"

" _Everyone_ annoys me."

"But I kept bothering you even when you said to leave you alone."

"I just... didn't want you getting attached. But I ended up getting attached anyway, so that plan was a failure."

Minako smiled again, and she placed her hand over the hand that held her face.

"Why are you so nice to me?" she asked playfully.

"Because I..." His voice completely stopped.

She giggled and leaned close to his face, nuzzling her nose into his cheek.

"Is it because you **_luuuuurve_** me???"

His face grew hot, almost red hot, and he turned it away, hiding the blush behind his hand. He could really use his beanie right now.

"I-I... shut up, moron," he growled, gaining another laugh in return.

"Come on, Shinji," she laughed, nuzzling against his hair. "Say~ it~."

"I ain't sayin' shit," he mumbled, covering his eyes with his hand. 

"Pwease???"

"No."

"You're no fun."

"Of course I'm not. Everything hurts."

She pulled her face back a bit, then batted at his hand just enough to urge him to lower it away from his face and glance over at her. 

"Everything...?" she asked, and it was then he noticed she had gotten really close.

"Uh..." 

His entire vocabulary seemed to vanish once she leaned toward his face, and she kissed him softly for a moment before pulling back an inch.

"Does that hurt?" she asked, that mischievous tone in her voice that she had a few nights prior when she basically forced herself into his room.

"No," he smirked, his arm finding its way around her waist to rest his hand on her lower back. "That's fine."

They kissed again, each forgetting for the duration that they were sitting in a hospital. It was a selfish decision when he kissed her before in his room, trying to find some semblence of happiness even if it meant breaking her heart when he died, or that's what he thought before. But he was alive, and this kiss was proof of that, and seemed to be proof of something else, as he felt something cold and wet drop onto his cheek.

He pulled back a bit, even as she tried to close the kiss again, and had to grab her shoulder to hold her at a bit of a distance. Wetness showed on Minako's face, her eyes red and brimming with tears. He reached up to caress her face and she looked away slightly, her face twisting in a way that seemed to also twist his heart around.

"Why are you crying...?" he asked softly.

"I'm not...!" she insisted, wiping the tears on her cheeks away with her sleeve. "I promised you I wouldn't, so I'm not!"

"Minako..."

She stared to the side for what seemed like a long time, a solemn look on her face that seemed far too out of place.

"...You mad at me?" she asked quietly.

His mouth fell open slightly, his expression softening. He reached around her waist and pulled her down against his shoulder, gently petting the back of her head near her ponytail.

"No," he breathed, looking at her as she pushed herself up slightly to look down at his face. "I'm not mad at you."

She smiled, then leaned in to kiss him again, and they both melted into it again, her arms wrapping around his neck the best she could with the pillows in her way. He held her tightly, not wanting to even give her a chance to get away, fully appreciating that she had chosen _him_ , even when he didn't deserve her.

_I'll have to do this right this time, even if I still don't have that much time..._

"Whoa, whoa, if you guys are gonna do that, I'm gonna leave."

Shinjiro didn't even have to open his eyes to know whose voice rudely interrupted them. He did anyway, and turned his head away to see Akihiko standing just inside the doorway, his left arm in a sling. Minako pulled away and looked toward the door, smirking mischievously.

"Or you could knock first," she said lightly, returning to sitting on the edge of the bed like she had been before. "Or maybe you're jealous~."

"Ugh, not a chance," Akihiko replied with a sigh. "I knew something was up with you two."

"It's not like we were hiding it," Minako smiled.

"Maybe _you_ weren't," Shinjiro muttered, gaining a poke in the stomach from Minako. "Ow! Watch it!"

"You need to grow some balls and stop being a little bitch about these things," she scolded, causing him to turn his face away in defiance.

"Whatever."

"Hey, Minako," Akihiko said with a grin, tossing a few coins at Minako, which she caught. "You mind getting us some drinks?"

"Why do I have to do it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why don't you be a big boy and do it?"

"But... but my arm," Akihiko mock-whined, gesturing to his sling. "And you know Shinji can't right now, I mean he's been in that bed all week."

"Ugh, fine," Minako replied with a dramatic sigh. "I guess since I'm the only one in this room who's not a little bitch, I'll do it."

Shinjiro snorted. Minako hopped off the cot and headed for the door, disappearing through it while her footsteps faded away. Akihiko turned toward Shinjiro after she left, then pulled up a chair, staring him down.

"...You did that just to get rid of her, didn't you?" Shinjiro asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Maybe," Akihiko smiled.

"Little shit."

"I won't deny that." His expression turned serious. "I'm just gonna come out and say it: you need to talk to Ken."

"...Now?"

"No, I mean, when you get out of the hospital."

Shinjiro turned his head away and scoffed.

"There's nothing to talk about," he muttered.

"You know there is," Akihiko replied.

"Even if you're right, which you're not, he won't listen to me."

"You sure about that?"

Shinjiro turned his head to Akihiko and narrowed his eyes, but didn't respond.

"Oh, so she _didn't_ tell you that Ken's been here everyday to see if you were awake," Akihiko said, smirking slightly.

"...What." Shinjiro's eyes widened, his mouth gaping.

Akihiko chuckled slightly, mostly at Shinjiro's dumbfounded expression. He leaned forward in the chair a bit, leaning on his knee with his good arm.

"I'm pretty sure he knows what he was trying to do was a mistake, Shinji," he continued, "so you should at least try to talk to him."

"It wasn't a mistake," Shinjiro retorted, turning his head away again. "I killed his mom, so his anger was pretty justified."

"Anger, yes, but revenge... I don't think so. He's just a confused kid, and you guys were already hitting it off, so I think you guys can pick up where you left off."

Shinjiro sighed, though it sounded more like a growl.

"You've always been so naive," he grumbled.

"And you've always been so stubborn," Akihiko retorted.

Shinjiro sighed, sinking down into the pillows. He stared at the opposing wall, flexing his jaw out of frustration. Akihiko sighed as well, looking down at his good hand, flexing the fingers in and out of a fist. After a few moments, he stopped, and turned his attention back to Shinjiro.

"Look," Akihiko said, waving around his good arm. "I'm not saying you guys have to be best friends or anything, but at least you could talk to him and maybe find some common ground. I think he'd like that, too."

"You don't know that," Shinjiro mumbled.

"Actually, I do. I talked to him when he came out here a few days ago, when I managed to get away from that nurse, and he understands now that it was an accident. He wants to forgive you, and I think you should let him. I mean if he can accept it was an accident and forgive you, I think you should be able to do the same for yourself."

"...I can't," Shinjiro sighed.

"Shinji..." Akihiko said, his voice raising slightly.

"Don't, Aki."

"Just think about it... because I think if you guys just talk it out and he sees your side of things, then everything will go back to normal. Well... mostly."

"Mostly?"

Akihiko stared him down again, almost glaring at him.

"You won't be taking those pills anymore," he said sternly. "I won't let you."

"You won't 'let' me?" Shinjiro chuckled.

"Well, the doctors found out a way to treat the side-effects while you were out. Actually, it was pure brilliance on their part since it was touch-and-go for awhile, but they found a cocktail of medications that works. The catch is that you HAVE to stop taking the Suppressants, Shinji, or the treatment won't work anymore."

Shinjiro stifled a laugh, sitting up as much as he could.

"And how do they plan on controlling Castor if I go off of them?" he asked.

"I'll just hit you in the head again," Minako said from the doorway, startling both Shinjiro and Akihiko into looking toward the door. "Here's your fucking drinks."

She tossed a bottle of Pocuri Sweat at Akihiko and handed a small bottle of hot lemon water to Shinjiro, then sat down on the bed herself with a can of soda. They both stared at her as she cracked open the can and took a drink, soon catching onto their eyes on her. 

"Don't give me that look, it was all they had!" she protested. 

"Just how long were you standing there...?" Akihiko asked warily.

"Long enough," she replied simply, taking another sip. "You know, Shinji, if you don't want to talk to Ken, you don't have to. It's not like you'll be better by the time of the last operation next month, anyway. It'll just be annoying with how awkward the lounge will be with you two not speaking still."

"See, even Minako agrees with me," Akihiko said.

"I didn't say that. I just meant having two people on bad terms in the dorm will end up causing problems."

"So either I make up with him," Shinjiro said, "or one of us has to leave."

"Don't even think about it, Shinji," Akihiko warned.

"Ugh, fine," he sighed, opening the bottle in his hand. "I'll talk to him when I'm discharged."

"Talk to who?"

The three of them looked toward the door, but it was Shinjiro who stared with wide eyes. Standing in the doorway, a book bag in his hand, was Ken.


	2. Rice Balls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very, very sick right now, but I got inspiration to write this chapter as well as chapter 3 (which I'll start today but probably not post until tomorrow or later). So any errors or weird things until I delete this note will be due to me unable to edit this fucker until my brain stops trying to fry itself from the inside out. I'll edit when I'm better.

"Oh, look who it is," Akihiko said lightly with a smirk, motioning toward the door. "Looks like you two can talk now~."

Shinjiro froze in place, trying to hide his shaking hands, although the heart monitor to the side of his bed betrayed his racing pulse to the rest of the room. Ken, seeming to ignore the frantic beeping, brought a chair closer to the bed beside Akihiko and sat down. He folded his hands sheepily in his lap, fiddling with something small between his fingers.

"Um..." he started, keeping his eyes turned to the side slightly. "I just wanted to..." 

He looked up at Akihiko, who patted his shoulder and nodded to him. He sat up a bit straighter, staring up at Shinjiro with a bit more determination.

"I want to apologize for everything that happened," he said, clutching the small object in one fist. "And for getting so angry at you that I--"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Shinjiro breathed, holding up his hand, mostly toward Akihiko who had opened his mouth to protest the interruption. "You have nothing to apologize for, so don't."

"But I--"

"But nothing. I can't accept an apology for something I deserved, anyway..." He lowered his gaze toward the foot of the bed, his mind wandering off.

"Shinji..." Akihiko growled, a slight warning in his voice. "You know you--"

"What about a truce?" Minako asked suddenly, gaining surprised stares from the rest of the room. "I mean neither of you are gonna back down anyway, so instead of this awkward bullshit of you two going back and forth trying to apologize and accept apologies, just agree that there are no hard feelings between you two?"

"That's... actually a really good idea," Akihiko agreed. "I'm surprised you thought of it first."

"I'm just that good!" Minako said with a cheesy smile, lifting her arm as if she were flexing it. "Seriously though, it took me almost an entire month to get this fucker here to finally loosen up enough to kiss me, so--"

"Okay, okay," Shinjiro interrupted, holding up both hands, his face alarmingly warm. "That's enough, Minako."

"Don't be mad just because you know I'm right."

"So... a truce..." Ken murmured, opening his palm and presenting it face up to Shinjiro. "Then... this can be a symbol of that truce."

"Symbol?" Shinjiro repeated, cocking an eyebrow and staring into the open palm to see a silver key. He lifted it from Ken's hand and brought it closer to his face, not seeing much out of the ordinary. "A key?"

"Yeah," Ken smiled. "It's the key to _that_ house."

"WHAT?!" Shinjiro coughed, dropping the key onto his lap and banging his head against the wall in an effort to get away from it, as if it were on fire. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head, opening one eye to stare down at Ken. "Why the hell would you give me **_that_**?!"

"Well, for awhile I was holding onto it to remind me of my mom, and what happened to her," Ken replied calmly. "But now I think I can go on without it, and so I want you to have it."

"But, it's--"

"It's a sign of trust, Shinji," Akihiko interrupted, staring Shinjiro in the face as he turned toward him. "He's trusting you with the last thing he has of his mom."

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds too dramatic, Sanada-san," Ken said dryly, giving Akihiko a strange stare. "But I guess that's how it is, in a way..."

"Alright," Shinjiro said with a sigh, picking up the key again. "I'll take good care of it, don't worry."

He touched Minako's arm with his free hand and guided her palm toward the ceiling, then placed the key in her hand.

"Minako," he said quietly. "My coat is hanging up over there... can you put it in one of the pockets?"

She leaned forward suddenly and pecked his cheek with her lips, deepening his blush much to her apparent delight. She hopped to her feet before he could protest, then motioned toward the far wall.

"Over here?" she asked innocently.

"Yes... it's right in front of your face..."

"Thanks, Shinjiro-san," Ken said suddenly and hastily, as if he were feeling awkward. "It means a lot."

"Uh, yeah," Shinjiro replied, rubbing the back of his head and sinking down into his nest of pillows. "No problem."

A light knocking at the doorway interrupted them, and all four turned toward the door. Fuuka gasped slightly and stepped back a bit, hiding a bento box behind the wall just outside the door. She stared down at the floor, avoiding the eyes of everyone in the room.

"Um..." she mumbled, holding the box close to her chest. "Minako-chan texted me and said Shinjiro-senpai was awake, and I was at cooking club at the time, so I..."

"Come out of the hallway, Fuuka," Minako called out, motioning for her to come inside. "Did you make us something?"

"Um..." she muttered again, shifting her weight uncomfortably after coming into the room. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous because I haven't cooked for anyone but Minako-chan by myself..."

"What'd you make?" Shinjiro asked suddenly, causing her to jump a little. 

"Onigiri..." she mumbled back, hiding behind the box, or as much as she could.

"Oh, onigiri!" Minako said excitedly, suddenly across the room from where she was and now standing beside Fuuka. "Are they like the ones you made last time? Those were awesome! Though it was all thanks to my guidance~." She struck a proud and dramatic pose, as if to take the attention off of nervous Fuuka and place it on herself to break the tension. 

"You learned to make onigiri?" Shinjiro asked wearily, sitting up slightly off the pillows, wincing as he moved. 

"Hell yeah, she did," Minako replied, taking the bento box and opening the top. "She's basically a pro at it now, and it wasn't a fluke at all, look at these!"

She turned the box around and presented the five onigiri in the box, each with different seasoning mixes in the rice, some with nori wrappings and some without. 

"I made them to order, so to speak," Fuuka said, pointing to the rice balls in the box. "Luckily I had plenty of supplies on hand, so I managed to make one to what I thought everyone would want." 

Minako picked up one, wrapped entirely in nori, and grinned.

"I can already tell this one is mine!" she announced, biting into it with a crunch.

"Yes, that one's yours, with salmon roe," Fuuka giggled. "I made mine with it, too, but only with a small piece of seaweed."

Fuuka picked up one with plain white rice and a normal nori sheet, then handed it to Ken, smiling lightly.

"I made yours with salted salmon, is that okay?" she asked, a bit hesitant as Ken took it from her.

"Don't worry, I love salmon," he replied, and bit into it, immediately swallowing it down and exclaiming. "It's really good!"

Shinjiro cocked an eyebrow, giving Minako a surprised look for a moment, his mind trying to figure out just what that girl did to get Fuuka to make edible onigiri, and in such a short time. His thoughts were interrupted as Fuuka presented a sesame-seasoned onigiri to him, her smile visible behind it.

"It's negitoro," she clarified as he took it from her. "I know you like green onions, so it was all I could think of..."

"It's fine, I like this kind," he muttered, a bit cautious.

He waited, wondering for a moment if it might explode in his hand for some reason, but that feeling passed when he smelled just how normal and enticing it smelled. He hadn't had real food for some time, he knew that much, and hadn't even experienced what would probably be horrible hospital food yet. He bit into the rice ball, slowly, getting a small mouthfull of rice and tuna with scallions. The texture was correct, the taste was correct (and very pleasant), and he found himself smirking slightly as he chewed.

"It's delicious," he said softly after swallowing. "Whatever you did, Minako, you did it right."

Minako laughed with a mouthful of rice, a slightly obnoxious action that he couldn't help but find cute. Fuuka pressed her hands together and smiled, then bowed.

"Thank you so much, Shinjiro-senpai! I was so nervous!" she said, relief in her shaking voice.

"You had no reason to be," he said, studying the remainder of his rice ball. "You did a really good job, I'm proud of you, and I feel a little less scared of letting you near a stove."

Fuuka smiled again, then went back to looking a bit timid as she eyed the box again.

"Well, I... did experiment with one..." she said quietly, reaching for the box.

_Uh oh._

She picked up and handed the last one to Akihiko, absent of nori with shoyu-stained rice.

"I made some beef the same way you would for beef stroganoff," she said, her voice shaking again. "A-And then I... mixed some tasteless protein powder into the rice, I hope it's okay..."

"You did what?" Shinjiro asked, staring at Akihiko as he brought the onigiri to his mouth.

"Was that wrong?" Fuuka asked, looking much like she did when he had berated her for the dorm cooking incident a few weeks prior.

"Well it's not exactly normal," Shinjiro replied, his eyes still on Akihiko, who had taken a bite. "But the guy's got some weird tastes, so I guess it just depends on--"

"Holy shit!" Akihiko exclaimed, just barely after swallowing a bite. "This is awesome!"

"Well there's your answer," Shinjiro muttered, shaking his head in disdain.

"Really, Akihiko-senpai?" she asked, her eyes sparkling as he took another huge bite. "It tastes okay?"

"It tastes amazing!" he replied, swallowing a mouth full of rice. "I've put protein powder in cooked rice before, but usually it gets... goopy."

"That's because you just pour it straight on the cooked rice and the steam makes it gross," Shinjiro spoke up after swallowing his own bite of rice. "Did you dissolve it in the soy sauce, Fuuka?"

"Yes, I did!" Fuuka replied, smiling again. "I thought it might clump together if I didn't."

"And you were right, good call."

* * *

The conversation fizzled out as everyone dug into their onigiri, including Fuuka, finishing it off with the sweets that Minako had made previously in the club. The moments were relaxed, with the five of them chatting about the usual things they did before anyone got shot, avoiding any talk of Strega or the Dark Hour for the moment. They were enjoying each other's company, something that, for a few terrifying hours on the morning of October 5th, they thought they had lost.

After a few hours, Fuuka suddenly spoke up.

"Oh my, it's already this late!" she exclaimed, standing to her feet. "We have mid-terms next week! I need to study!"

"Oh, yeah I should probably do that, too," Minako said, though she was much more reluctant, remaining at her seat on the bed by Shinjiro. "But I really don't want to."

"Don't let me interfere with your schoolwork," Shinjiro muttered to her, nudging her butt with his leg. 

"They should let us both out to take them, too," Akihiko spoke up. 

"Both of us?" Shinjiro asked, smirking slightly.

"Shinji, don't even think about skipping out on this," Akihiko said with the same tone he uses in Tartarus. "You'll have to work double-time if you want even a chance at getting a higher score than me!"

"I didn't mean that, moron, though it'd be more fair to you if I _didn't_ study," Shinjiro replied with snark. "I'm just wondering how the hell you're gonna take midterms with that arm."

Akihiko looked down at his sling for a moment and then chuckled.

"Oh right, I'm left-handed," he said with a laugh.

"You idiot..." Shinjiro muttered, still smirking.

"How will you take the exams...?" Fuuka asked, clasping her hands in front of herself in worry.

"My old school let you make up exams if you flunked or couldn't take them for some reason," Minako said, motioning with her hand as she spoke. "Gakkoukan is weird, but it's not THAT weird, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," Shinjiro sighed, shifting his weight a bit. "My homeroom teacher made me take make-ups last year after I skipped out on exam day." He met Akihiko's stern stare, then sighed again. "I'm not gonna do it this time, Aki, at least not unless the doctors don't let me out of here to take them."

"We'll just have to hope for the best," Akihiko said.

"Well, let's get out of here, then, Fuuka-chan," Minako said as she stood and headed for the door, slightly mocking Fuuka's tone, though not maliciously. "Even if I don't study, it'll be hilarious to remind Junpei that he needs to hit the books."

"Don't be so mean, Minako-chan!" Fuuka said, following Minako to the door.

"But it's so funny!"

"Hey," Akihiko said, stopping only Fuuka in her tracks as Minako disappeared through the door. 

"What is it?" Fuuka asked.

"I just wanted to thank you for bringing us food, so on Sunday do you want to go to Wakatsu? My treat."

"I'd love that, Akihiko-senpai."

"Great, so... come by on Saturday after school and we can set up a time?"

"Yes! I'll be there!"

"Great."

Fuuka fumbled with her hands for a moment, then bowed, before scurrying out of the room when Minako yelled after her to stop being slow. Once the door slid closed, Shinjiro stared over at Akihiko, a dry stare on his face.

"W-What?" Akihiko asked innocently.

"Really?" Shinjiro asked, motioning toward the door with his eyes.

"She's cute, okay?!" Akihiko replied defensively. "I mean, I could say the same thing about you taking Minako out for coffee and shit."

"Well she's c-- shut up." Shinjiro sank into the pillows and covered his face, the heat radiating through his hand.

"See?!" Akihiko laughed. "And don't even pretend that watch she's been wearing wasn't from you."

"I said, 'shut up,'" Shinjiro growled back. "Or I'm stuffing this pillow down your throat."

"That doesn't sound very tasty," Akihiko grinned. "I'd rather go back to Fuuka's old cooking."

Shinjiro merely scoffed in reply, and the two continued back and forth until a nurse finally dragged Akihiko back to his room.


	3. Yeah, VIDEO GAMES.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really long, I'm sorry.
> 
> Also, there are minor spoilers in this chapter for episode 1 of the game The Wolf Among Us, so keep that in mind.

Down the hallway from his hospital room, Shinjiro stood in front of a vending machine, bouncing a few coins on his palm. He stared up at the selection of drinks, ranging from water to soda and from coffee to tea, and sighed.

_Really stale machine for a hospital..._

He rolled his eyes and dropped the coins in the machine, then pressed a button for black coffee, just as someone rushed past his back. He turned slightly, seeing a familiar red vest, and turned almost fully to face the person wearing it.

"Aki," he called out, causing Akihiko to turn around and face him much more quickly than he needed to.

"Heyy Shinji, what's up!" Akihiko said, his voice sounding rushed. "Getting coffee? I know you like coffee, coffee's great, though I prefer soda, but coffee's good!"

"...Are you okay?" Shinjiro asked, raising as eyebrow. Akihiko's face was noticeably flushed.

"Yeah I'm fine, _totally_ fine, why wouldn't I be? I'm so fine that I got discharged yesterday, did I tell you that? I told you that, right?"

"...Uh, yeah, you did."

"Great! Yeah, great, that's good, you're a good friend, always remembering stuff... well, I'm gonna go see my doctor and then see if he'll let me go run ten miles, I could _really_ use a good run, anyway, see ya!"

Akihiko turned to start going down the hallway while Shinjiro knelt down to get his drink out of the vending machine. As Shinjiro stood back up, he stared after Akihiko for a moment, just long enough for him to only get a few paces away, when he remembered something.

"Hey, how'd your date go?" he called out, causing Akihiko to stop in his tracks and turn around again.

"Psh! Date? What date?" Akihiko replied, his face flushing more and his words starting to blend together as he spoke. "I didn't have a date, what are you talking about?"

"So you didn't go out with Fuuka today?"

"Oh, that date! Well I would really call it a date-date, we just kinda went to Wild Duck and talked so I wouldn't really call it a date." Akihiko made a large gesture with his free hand, as if to emphasize the point. 

"So what the hell would you call it?"

"I dunno, just two friends having burgers, why you gotta make it weird, Shinji?"

Akihiko's voice gradually got higher as he spoke until one syllable squeaked slightly, gaining another puzzled look from Shinjiro. With a scoff, Shinjiro walked forward, brushing past Akihiko on his way back to his room.

"I wasn't the one making it weird," he replied, cracking open his drink can. "You're the one talking like you've had five of these." He gestured slightly with the can.

"Well maybe I have how would you know I was with Fuuka all day we could've had lots of coffee you don't know that and besides it's not like it's gonna happen again so who cares right?" Akihiko spoke so quickly that he couldn't stop himself from letting the last part slip out, and he finally stopped speaking long enough to stare horrified at Shinjiro for a moment. "I mean, uh... yeah coffee I could use some coffee! Be right back, okay--"

"Aki." Shinjiro grabbed Akihiko's uninjured arm, using his own weight to keep him from walking away. 

Akihiko stared back at him for a moment before letting out a small sigh, then stared at the ground. He kept silent for a long time, even through occasional tugs on his arm from Shinjiro. Having had enough of the silence, Shinjiro sighed and released his arm, taking a drink from the can

"I think I might have... scared her," Akihiko said finally, just as Shinjiro's hand left his arm.

"Scared her?" Shinjiro asked in reply.

"Look, can we talk about it in your room?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Roughly an hour prior, Akihiko and Fuuka exitted the front of Wild Duck Burger. They loitered off to the side near the stairs that led to the upper floors of the Iwatodai strip mall, Fuuka fiddling with her own hands nervously, Akihiko deciding to stare out at the station across the street.

"So..." Akihiko began, his face flushing slightly. "I hope those girls didn't bother you too much."

"Oh, no, it's okay," Fuuka replied hurriedly, smiling up at him. "They weren't really all that loud, so I don't mind."

"Yeah, but they were still annoying, all while we were trying to eat, too."

"Well, you were in the hospital for awhile, so I think they were just excited to see you."

"But I don't even know them, and they don't know me, so why should they even care...?"

"Well, Akihiko-senpai, you're really popular, so a lot of people care about you even if you don't realize it. And, while you were in the hospital, a lot of the other girls in my class were talking about how worried they were for you."

"That still doesn't excuse how rude they were. I... I wanted this to be a nice, peaceful lunch between the two of us so we could talk, but that couldn't happen with them crowding around us."

"Well, it's also Wild Duck Burger." She giggled slightly. "It's not really the place for that kind of thing."

"I knew we should've just gone to Wakatsu, but we can't because I can't hold chopsticks yet." He sighed and stared at the ground.

"It really cuts down on our options, doesn't it?" She smiled, giggling slightly again. "But it's okay, I still had fun."

"It's not okay though, burgers and fries are tasty, but I'd rather treat you to something more... fulfilling. Something that will help you, you know..."

"Help me what?"

"I-I was getting to that!" His voice suddenly rose in volume without his intention, and he found himself staring into Fuuka's grey eyes, which were widened with what appeared to be fear. "I-I mean, just because you're the support doesn't mean you can't eat to get stronger." His face felt really hot, and he found himself averting his eyes away from hers.

"A-Are you saying I should train or something...?" she asked, her voice shaking a little bit.

"N-No, just, ah..." His brain blanked out, and his eyes found the station. "Just forget I said anything, I just remembered I have to get back to the hospital to see the doctor, so I'll see you back at the dorm later, okay?"

"Oh... okay. See you later, then." 

He didn't see her expression as he practically sprinted across the street, tagging his train card on the NFC reader before disappearing up the stairs on his way to the platforms.

* * *

"Stop laughing!" Akihiko's face was just as flushed as when he was with Fuuka, tears brimming at the edges of his eyes. "This is serious!"

"Sorry, you're just--ngh!" Shinjiro doubled over, holding his stomach, the stitches from where the bullet had been taken out pulling at his skin as he laughed. 

"Serves you right," Akihiko stated, sitting down at the foot of the cot indignantly. 

"Well, as funny as your fuck up was, you shouldn't worry so much," Shinjiro said, sitting down on the cot as well, but on the side instead.

"Don't try to compare this to you and Minako, she's way different from Minako."

"I know, I wasn't gonna say that. Do you remember when the two of us cooked dinner for the team?"

"Oh yeah, that was amazing!"

"Well, a week or so before that, I found her basically trying to set the kitchen on fire while trying to cook beef stroganoff. And I laid into her and yelled at her a lot more than you did, I can guarantee that."

"But this is a completely different situation..."

"No, it isn't. Because even though she looked scared when I was telling her not to do stupid shit, she still listened and even came back again and again asking for advice with cooking, throwing recipes and cookbooks and shit at me."

"So, what you're saying is that she's stronger than she looks."

"To an extent, yeah."

"But, Shinji--"

"Don't 'but Shinji' me, you've never let a setback get you down before. You always just ran on ahead through any roadblock in your way. What's so different about this?"

"...I guess I just really don't know what I'm doing, and I want to do it the right way."

"Trust me, there's no 'right way' when it comes to this shit."

"Of course you'd say that, you never do things like this the 'right way.'"

"That's because social norms are bullshit."

"Well, I don't think the same way you do, so that's not gonna help me."

"You really think that just because you stumbled a bit while talking to her that she'll never want anything to do with you? You know better than that, look at your annoy-ass fangirls who can't take a damn hint."

"...But they're not Fuuka."

"No they're not, and that's what makes her better for you. I mean, if she can forgive that piece of shit excuse for a friend, I'm pretty sure she'll forgive you for getting a little loud in her face."

"If you say so... I don't really wanna think about it for awhile, though." Akihiko leaned back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling.

"Fine." Shinjiro took a long drink of his coffee, staring down at the floor while he thought of a subject change. "So, I'm getting discharged tomorrow."

"What, really?"

"Yeah, just in time for midterms, right?" Shinjiro sighed and covered his eyes with one hand.

"Hey if you do badly, it'll be your own fault for skipping so much."

"You don't have to rub it in, Aki."

"Well at least there's no school tomorrow, so we have all day to do a rigorous studying session!" He sat up and pumped his arm, that cheeky grin back on his face.

"...I'll pass."

"I'd rather pass, too, but Mitsuru's serious about both of us improving our grades."

"My grades are fine. And why the hell does she care?"

"Who knows, but I'd rather just do what she says than face an execution."

Shinjiro shivered slightly, an unpleasant memory forcing its way into his mind.

"Yeah," he muttered, running his hand down his face. "You got me there."

* * *

Midterms came and went, the team returning to the dorms on the following Saturday exhausted and mentally-drained. Shinjiro's stitches had been taken out on Friday, and the same day Akihiko was allowed to forgo the sling and begin physical therapy on his arm. It wasn't until that Sunday that SEES traveled to Tartarus again, leaving the two almost-brothers alone in the dorm.

"YE-YAH that was awesome!" Minako exclaimed, having landed a critical hit on a particularly-large Shadow. "Fuck your shit, you sword motherfucker!"

"That was so badass!" Junpei exclaimed just as loudly, running up to Minako. They exchanged high-fives, both smiling brightly into each other's faces. "If this was a video game, that damage would've been off the charts!"

"As excitable as always," Mitsuru remarked, beaming nonetheless. "But excellent work, Arisato. At this rate, we should reach the top of the tower with plenty of time to spare."

Koromaru suddenly turned his head to the right, staring down the nearby corridor. His ears cocked forward, catching Minako's attention.

"Koro, what's up?" she asked, bracing her hands on her naginata out of pure habit. "Is there a Shadow down there or something?"

"He definitely hears something," Junpei remarked, staring down the same corridor with his sword poised. 

"Stay on your guard," Mitsuru ordered, raising her rapier. "Just to be safe."

"Right," Junpei agreed.

"Shh," Minako hissed, motioning toward the hallway. 

"Wha-" Junpei began to protest, but a distant, echoing voice interrupted him.

"You idiot! I told you the stairs were the other way!"

"Is that Shinjiro?" Mitsuru asked, lowering her sword slightly just as a second voice echoed toward them.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up! The longer we stay on one floor, the harder we can train."

"Okay, that was totally Akihiko-san," Junpei spoke up, lowering his own sword.

At the end of the hallway, Shinjiro and Akihiko came around one of the corners, pausing just inside the corridor. Even from a distance, the others could see the animated movements of their bickering, arms gesturing about and stances changing dramatically.

"Don't just make up excuses for getting us lost!" Shinjiro bellowed.

"It's not like we'd be any less lost with you leading us!" Akihiko retorted.

"At least I wouldn't lead us into a room with like ten Shadows in it!"

"There were **_EIGHT_**."

Mitsuru opened her mouth to yell down the hallway, but was interrupted by Minako stepping forward. She placed her naginata on the ground like a staff, and smiled, waiting for a break in the bickering.

"I don't care HOW many Shadows were in the fucking room," Shinjiro continued, "you don't just storm in there by yourself!"

"Hey, you didn't _have_ to fight!" Akihiko yelled back.

"If I didn't, you would've fuckin DIED!"

"Boys~~~!" Minako called out, leaning some of her weight onto her naginata. They both turned their heads toward the end of the hallway, and in response Minako waved. "Did ya miss me that much, Shinji?"

Both sets of their eyes grew exceptionally-wide, especially when they both spotted Mitsuru standing just behind Minako.

"...Y-Yeah you know what you're right the stairs were the other way RUN SHINJI!" Akihiko turned the way they came and sprinted down the hallway, followed closely by Shinjiro.

"Dammit, of all people, she brought fuckin Mitsuru with her this time!" Shinjiro grumbled. "I'd rather go up against Death barehanded!"

"Hey that's not a bad idea--"

"AKI NO!"

* * *

A few nights later, Akihiko and Shinjiro found themselves alone in the lounge. Shinjiro was stretched out on one couch, staring up at the ceiling while trying (and failing) to nap, while Akihiko sat on the other couch, relacing his gloves in a bit of a trance.

"...She locked the door," Shinjiro muttered, his hat now over his eyes. "From the outside, too."

"So we can't leave and do any training..." Akihiko replied. "It's like a waste of the Dark Hour."

"The Dark Hour itself is a waste."

"I just feel so useless sitting here doing nothing, I can't get stronger if I don't go to Tartarus."

"Didn't this happen to you earlier this year? Just do what you did back then."

"I was usually just here by myself and I'd do some training on my own with the equipment in my room, but we're so close to the end of all this that I can't sit still anymore."

"We don't really have a choice at this point. She was pretty clear and loud about us staying here to heal."

"Yeah, and it pisses me off. I can't just sit here and wait on my arm to heal or it'll be just that much harder to get stronger."

"You muscleheaded freak..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Aki."

Shinjiro sat up suddenly, staring out toward the door.

"You know," he said, "if you're that bored, Junpei dropped off a bunch of video games at my room the other day. Something about being too busy with 'Chidorita' or some shit. I told him I didn't have any consoles or anything in my room to play them on, but he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."

"I have some consoles in my room," Akihiko replied. "We can see if they'll run any of them."

"Why the fuck do you have game consoles? Wouldn't that cut into your training shit?"

"I just play them to unwind sometimes. They're kind of relaxing."

"I could use some relaxing, so let's do it."

* * *

Upstairs in his dorm room, Akihiko plopped down on his sofa next to Shinjiro, who was sifting through the games he'd laid out on the coffee table. At least two dozen plastic cases of varying sizes and colors--including white, blue, and green-- were stacked on top of each other, crowding out most of the free space on the table.

"So when you said 'a bunch,' you really meant 'a bunch,'" Akihiko commented, picking up one of the green cases.

"You know I rarely exaggerate shit," Shinjiro muttered back, glancing through a few white and blue cases in his hands. "So you have consoles for all this shit or what?"

"I have most of them, I think." Akihiko motioned toward the TV stand. "The PS4 is what's hooked up through the HDMI thing, so we should probably stick with that right now."

"Fine by me," Shinjiro replied, tossing the cases gently onto a stack. "I'm too drained to fuck with wires anyway."

"So I guess you don't want to play anything that takes too much focus either."

"Nope."

"Then check this out." He tossed a PS4 case to Shinjiro, who caught it in one hand and stared down at it. "Looks like it focuses more on story than gameplay."

"'You are the big bad wolf'..." Shinjiro narrowed his eyes at it. "Is this some kind of werewolf shit?"

"Dunno, but read the blurb below it."

"What, you mean 'A five episode series based on--'"

"No, below that."

"Dammit... okay, 'Your choices matter and will change and define the story you experience.'"

"Cool, right?"

"...I don't know about that."

"Hey, you wanted something low-focus and whatever, and usually when games focus more on story than gameplay, you don't have to put so much brain power into playing. It's kind of awesome when they do that, actually, it's like you get to experience the story a lot more." Akihiko gestured with his hands a little, visibly excited about the concept, his eyes lighting up as he talked about it..

"Then maybe you should play it since I don't think we should trust my decisions here."

"But I wanna watch you, I haven't seen you play video games since we were kids."

"You've obviously never seen me and Minako at the arcade, then."

"Nope."

"I still don't think I should do it."

"You chicken?" He smirked as Shinjiro narrowed his eyes at him.

"....I didn't say that either. Fine, I'll do it, but I fuckin warned you."

Shinjiro got up and crossed over to the TV, turning on the Playstation 4, then hit the eject button to make sure a disc wasn't already inserted after it booted. No disc came out, so he inserted the game disc, a dark and mostly-purple thing that wouldn't look out of place behind Port Island Station somewhere. The TV clicked on as he walked back toward the couch, and Akihiko put the remote down just as he plopped back onto the obviously-new sofa.

"Are those the controllers?" he asked, nodding toward the floor under the table.

"Yeah," Akihiko said, picking one up and tossing it at him.

"Shit," Shinjiro growled, turning the controller in his hands. "This thing is weirder than I remember."

"They've upgraded since the PS2, Shinji."

His eyes caught a strange grey block that took up most of the front center portion of the controller and he froze.

"Please don't tell me this is one of those trackpad things like on Fuuka's laptop."

"Okay I won't tell you that." Akihiko smirked.

"Ass."

"Don't worry, not that many games use it anyway, so you probably won't have to touch it."

"Thank fuck."

Shinjiro turned on the controller, and Akihiko settled into the sofa, and they both watched as purple text faded onto the screen.

"'Once upon a time in New York City,'" Shinjiro read outloud. "Oh so this is American or some shit."

"Guess so, I mean it's based on European myths or something, right?" Akihiko replied.

"Sounds like it."

"So this 'Sheriff Bigby Wolf' is who you're playing as."

"Oh, so not only do my choices matter, but I'm a cop, too."

"You have no choice but to protect people, Shinji~."

"Shut your stupid face."

An opening cinematic played, showing a man in heavily-stylized Western animation getting out of a taxi and lighting a cigarette. He walked into a dilapidated building and greated the landlord, which was an anthromorphic amphibian.

_**Bigby: "Mr. Toad..."** _   
_**Toad: "Shit! Bigby~! Listen, mate, I know I don't look human."** _

"That's definitely a talking frog," Shinjiro muttered.

"That's a talking TOAD, Shinji," Akihiko smirked.

"I was close, shut up."

A selection screen popped up with a rapidly-decreasing red bar.

"Shit shit, it's making me do shit already."

"Just pick one!"

"Square looks good, I'll do that one." His thumb mashed into the square button.

_**Bigby:"I'm looking at a 3-foot toad... in a sweater.... That's a problem."** _

"Hm..." Akihiko hummed, staring at the TV quizzically.

"What?!" Shinjiro huffed, glaring at Akihiko from the side. "Did I fuck up already?"

"It's not that... gimme a second."

"Fine."

Shinjiro toggled through a few more choices, grumbling about each one before the main character went up some stairs. The character stopped in hallway, giving him control of his own movements finally. Circles and a cursor popped up on the screen, and Shinjiro let out an annoyed huff.

"Oh goddammit, what is this shit?" he muttered.

"Oh, it's one of those point-and-click things, look." Akihiko pointed at the screen. "Move the stick around to where those circles are and you can interact with them."

"...really?"

"Yeah."

"Well I guess you were right about this being really low-focus then. So what's with this door?"

"I guess the hand means you open the door and the foot means you kick it in."

_**Woody: Take a look! Take a good look! Know who I am?!** _

"It's gettin' pretty loud in there," Shinjiro mumbled, his tone irritated. "I should probably kick it in."

"Shinji no--"

"Too late."

"Well, let's hope that broken door doesn't bite us later."

"You can bite my--" Shinjiro's retort was cut off by the other male character in the game drunk-slapping the woman in the room with them. "WHOA HEY ASSHOLE!"

_**Bigby:"Whoa whoa whoa whoa! HEY! HEY!"** _

Akihiko busted out in laughter, doubling over and holding his stomach. Shinjiro dropped a hand off the controller and grabbed at Akihiko's shirt, pulling him up so he could glare into his face.

"Okay, what's so fucking funny?!"

Akihiko couldn't reply, at least not in words, still laughing too hard to speak. He motioned to the TV, where the time to make a choice was quickly running out. Shinjiro quickly hit triangle, then started in on Akihiko again, only to be interrupted when the main character (Bigby) got headbutted in the face.

"He's stealing your moves, Shinji," Akihiko said breathlessly between laughs.

"Will you shut up, you moron..."

"Quick, you have to choose again."

"Fine, square."

_**Bigby:"Woody, this is your last warning. If you keep on like this, I won't have any choice but to put you down."** _   
_**Woody:"Put ME down? You've got a shit fuckin' memory, Wolf. That's not how it went last time."** _   
_**Bigby:"This isn't last time."** _

Akihiko laughed some more, gaining another glare from Shinjiro.

"You gonna tell me what's so damn hilarious?" Shinjiro growled.

"It's just--oh look, quick-time." Akihiko pointed at the screen.

"Quick-time...?" He looked at the TV just as a triangle symbol flashed on the screen and his character was punched in the face. "SHIT!"

"You missed."

"I CAN SEE THAT!"

He continued trying to get through the quicktime events, clumsily trying to move a red circle into a larger red circle before time ran out, and failing.

"You're getting your ass kicked, Shinji," Akihiko said cheekily, a laugh in his voice.

"Well, Aki," Shinjiro growled, "my first instinct when some fuckin giant is coming at me with a knife isn't to MOVE A CURSOR INTO A CIRCLE."

"It's just like any other video game."

"NO IT ISN'T!"

The fight scene finally ended somewhat successfully, and Shinjiro rested the controller on his lap for a moment while the cinematic played. More choices popped up before long, causing him to groan.

"He's a grumpy little shit, ain't he?" he muttered, causing Akihiko to snort. "What?!"

"Kinda reminds you of someone, doesn't it?" Akihiko asked, smirking.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do, you just don't wanna admit it."

"No, I really don't know what you mean."

"Just keep playing then."

"I don't like how you said that."

The game continued on as they bickered, causing Shinjiro to almost miss another quick-time event that involved him hitting X repeatedly to get out of the other character's (Woody's) grip. He gritted his teeth and mashed the button so quickly and roughly the plastic casing started rattling.

_**Woody: "I know you're fuckin' in there. Come on out you fuckin' dog!"** _

"Why isn't this working?!" he growled.

"Are you not hitting it fast enough?" Akihiko asked.

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"Well, just go faster!"

"I'm trying, goddammit!"

In the game, Bigby's eyes glowed yellow and his teeth grew out, and Shinjiro froze just as the cinematic started and took control of the game away from him again. Akihiko glanced at him, finding his hands shaking on the controller and sweat beading on his face, his eyes wide.

"Shinji--!" Akihiko didn't need to even form a sentence, since his name alone was enough to startle Shinjiro out of the trance or whatever it was. "You didn't almost go out of control, did you?"

"No," Shinjiro breathed in reply, running his hand down his face. "I just realized what you meant before about this guy."

"What, that he's you?"

"Kinda."

"Sure, 'kinda.' Not 'totally' or anything~."

"Shut up, you idiot."

"HOLY SHIT!" Akihiko exclaimed, putting his hand up to his mouth as the girl in the scene (Faith) swung Woody's ax into the back of his head. "Ax to the head! Everyone's using all your moves but YOU!"

"I'll gladly give you an ax to the head if you don't shut your dumb face," Shinjiro muttered. "And look, that girl's looting his dead body."

"Well I don't blame her, he owed her money and that's the best way to get it."

Shinjiro was about to respond, but Woody's sudden and very-alive dialogue during the cutscene cut him off.

"OH GOD HE'S STILL ALIVE!" Shinjiro exclaimed, pressing buttons on the controller to see if he could gain control of Bigby again.

"DOUBLE-TAP!" Akihiko screamed, shaking Shinjiro by his shoulder. "DOUBLE-TAP, SHINJI!"

"THE GAME WON'T LET ME!"

After that cutscene and mini-freakout passed, a dialogue started between Faith and Bigby, which allowed both Shinjiro and Akihiko to relax for a moment.

_**Bigby: "I feel like we've met before..."** _

"Your pickup lines suck," Akihiko commented, smirking.

"Like yours are any better," Shinjiro growled back.

"How would you know?"

"I heard about a little bet you and Junpei had on Yakushima over the summer. Something about a creepy middle-aged lady with huge tits and Aegis being into girls...?"

Akihiko's face turned bright red.

"I-It wasn't like that, okay!" he insisted, his voice increasing in pitch.

"Sure."

"I still talked to her the longest!"

"Talked to who?"

"I mean... h-hey look you get to move again!" He pointed hurriedly at the screen.

"Someone's being creepy in the bushes..." Shinjiro muttered. "And it's making me choose shit again. I really don't wanna talk to any of these people..."

"Can't progress the story if you don't talk to them~."

"I know, I know, shut up. I'm just gonna tell her I'm staying out of it. And..." He pressed through a few dialogue options before the other character (Beauty) walked away. "There we go, now I can go inside."

In the game, Shinjiro guided Bigby to an elevator, which activated a cinematic that involved Bigby pressing an elevator button and a man rushing down the stairs in his direction.

"Here comes a guy," Akihiko pointed out.

"Oh god, please don't talk to me," Shinjiro muttered, just as the other character blocked the doors from closing. "GODDAMMIT."

"Even the elevator is against you."

Shinjiro muttered something inaudible and unsavory under his breath, hitting buttons sto get through the dialogue options as quickly as possible. Soon, the other character (Beast) left as well.

"I'm staying out of their goddamn marital problems," he muttered.

"Hey, it might be important," Akihiko replied.

"I don't care, I'm too drained for this shit."

Yet another cinematic played, taking Bigby through a hallway and into an apartment marked with 204 in crooked metal numbers. The room was dark, with peeling wallpaper and an empty takeout container, and an obvious lack of central air or heating.

"Nice apartment you got there, Shinji," Akihiko grinned, gaining only a grunt in reply.

Shinjiro guided Bigby through the apartment until he got to the area that seemed to serve as a living room, finding a rather large animal sleeping in a chair.

"There's a pig in here," Shinjiro stated. "Why is there a pig in here?"

"Maybe it's like that toad from before," Akihiko suggested.

"It's not even wearing clothes."

"Look, you can interact with it."

Shinjiro pressed one of the options, which seemed to be "look."

_**Bigby: "Not again..."** _

"'Again'?!" he coughed, having to hold his chest as a small coughing fit attacked him. "Just how often does he find a goddamn pig in his apartment?!"

"Touch it," Akihiko said.

"Why...?" He stared at Akihiko with narrow eyes.

"Maybe something else will happen."

Shinjiro sighed and complied, choosing the "touch" option. The sleeping pig stirred and looked up at Bigby.

"Oh, it woke up," he said, more in a reactive way than anything else.

_**Colin: "Hey... Bigby... I'm in your chair, huh?"** _

In the game, Bigby simply gave the pig a hard stare.

"That glare was so you," Akihiko grinned, almost laughing. "You can't deny that."

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut your shit?" Shinjiro grumbled, pressing through more dialogue options to get through the scene.

_**Colin: "The house didn't blow itself down, Bigby. That's all I'm sayin'. Do with that what you will. Now I'm not saying it's reason enough for me to have been definitely offered a drink, but, uh... it would have helped ease some of the pain you once caused me, yes? It also would've shown everyone how different you are now."** _

"Ohhh..." Akihiko hummed, glancing over to see Shinjiro looking visibly uncomfortable. "This conversation isn't gonna nice for you."

"...can I skip it?" Shinjiro asked uselessly, pressing circle on the controller in hopes it would skip ahead.

"I don't think so."

"Fuck."

The in-game dialogue continued, including more options, leading up to the pig (Colin) talking about hate and fear and Bigby trying to ignore him.

_**Colin: "This is real. They're scared of you."** _

"Wow that was low," Akihiko commented.

"This entire game better not be like this," Shinjiro growled.

"Scared you might learn something about yourself~?"

"No, I'm scared I might strangle your ass before the night's over."

"Don't strangle my ass, I need that."

"Will you shut up?"

_**Bigby: "Will you shut up?"** _

Akihiko laughed, and loudly, and Shinjiro covered his eyes with one hand, gritting his teeth together.

"I can't believe this," he muttered.

"Wow, and it was same tone that time," Akihiko laughed. "It's uncanny."

"I'm gonna headbutt you through that window if you don't shut it."

A knocking sound emitted from the game, and Shinjiro had control of Bigby again.

"Better get that door," Akihiko grinned.

"I swear if it's not one thing it's something fuckin' else..." Shinjiro mumbled. "That's the only thing I'll agree with you on, he's got the same problem as me."

"Which problem would that be?"

"Fucks like you not leaving me alone."

He pressed the button to open the door, revealing another unfamiliar character.

"Well that's not me," Akihiko said, grinning still. "That's a girl. Not the girl you probably wanted, but a girl."

Shinjiro grumbled and let the cinematic play, which ended up being the two characters walking through the apartment building's hallways to the elevator, with dialogue sprinkled in.

"She's got kind of a Mitsuru thing going on, doesn't she?" Shinjiro said, referring to the girl (Snow) who had come to Bigby's door in the game.

Akihiko stared at the screen for a few moments before his eyes went wide.

"...Oh god," he said. "You're right. And you've got a crush on her."

"I do not."

"That version of you does." Akihiko pointed at the TV.

"I thought he was after the other one, you know..." Shinjiro thought for a moment, trying to remember a name as the screen showed a closeup of a security guard's jacket. "Faith or whatever her-- _HOLY SHIT!_ "

In the game, Bigby had pulled back the jacket to reveal the decapitated head of Faith laying on the steps.

"Well, that's bad," Akihiko said, letting out a breath through his clenched teeth. "Looks like you won't be getting those matches back."

"Did I fuck that up or something?"

"I have no idea... we can ask Junpei later."

* * *

Later came faster than they anticipated, after the Dark Hour interrupted their game and the other members of SEES returned to the dorm. Minako darted for the kitchen, humming a tune she'd had playing on her headphones while in Tartarus.

"Hey!" Yukari called out, pulling her equipment from her back. "What are you doing?"

"Midnight snack!" Minako called back. "What are YOU doing?!"

"Not ruining my diet by eating this late!"

"Diets are for pussies!"

"Just what are you implying?!"

"Takeba," Mitsuru interrupted, bumping Yukari's shoulder with her arm. "You know once she starts eating, you can't stop her without risk of injury."

"I can't believe our leader is less behaved than a dog..." Yukari muttered, glancing over at Koromaru, who whined. "Oh, I didn't mean that in a bad way, Koro-chan. I'm sorry."

"Do you guys hear something?" Ken asked, staring up toward the stairs.

The others followed his gaze and stayed quiet for a few moments, leaving room for muffled voices to echo through the walls just enough to prove their existence.

"The hell is that?" Junpei asked.

"Sounds like the Senpai Twins," Minako said as she exited the kitchen, her hands fiddling with the plastic wrap on a curry bun.

"I have completed my analysis of the two voices," Aegis spoke up, turning to face most of the group. "Judging from the pitch, tone, and volume of both voices, I have determined that they are Shinjiro-san and Akihiko-san, next to assorted other sounds too quiet for human hearing to detect. I have determined these other sounds to be of electronic in origin and similar to sounds I hear from Junpei-san's room when he is 'studying.'"

"That's what I said!"

"Oh, they must be playing those games I gave to Shinjiro-san," Junpei said.

"Iori." Mitsuru glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you mean to say that when you 'study,' you're really just playing video games?"

"I only play them when I take breaks, honest!"

"Uh huh, sure, Stupei," Yukari said, rolling her eyes. She turned to Mitsuru. "You want me to go ahead and show you the things from that magazine?"

"Yes, we should do that before it gets much later than it already is," Mitsuru replied, heading for the stairs.

Yukari nodded and followed, and soon they both disappeared around the first landing on their way to the third floor. Ken yawned and stretched, making his way to the stairs as well.

"I should go to my room, too," he said, his eyes hooded with exhaustion. "I'm beat."

"Alright, night," Junpei said, taking his hat off to scratch his head.

"They sound kind of loud, though," Ken looked up at the ceiling, "so someone should probably tell them to keep it down since everyone's back."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll do it."

"I'll go with," Minako said, her words muffled slightly through a bite of curry bread. 

"Okay, but why?"

"Shinji playing video games sounds funny."

* * *

They made their way up to the third floor, finding the sounds coming from Akihiko's room. Junpei knocked, then waited, but there was no break in the apparent-bickering coming from the other side. He raised his hand to knock again, but Minako reached around him and opened the door instead.

"They didn't even lock it, come on," she smiled.

He laughed slightly, then entered the room as she held it open for him. They found Akihiko and Shinjiro on the couch in front of the TV, with The Wolf Among Us playing on the screen.

"Oh, you guys started with that one?" he asked, startling both of them.

"When the fuck did you guys get back?" Shinjiro asked, only glancing back at them once before going back to investigating a room in the game.

"Well, the Dark Hour's been over for awhile," Minako said, gliding over behind the couch. She draped her arms over the back of it and wrapped them loosely around Shinjiro's neck, nuzzling her face against the side of his head. "We got held up though, just so Junpei could take a piss at Iwatodai Station."

"I just really had to go, okay!" Junpei protested. "Ice attacks make my bladder shrink!"

"Is that the only thing that shrinks?"

"Don't talk about my dick like that!"

"I meant your brain, but that's better!"

"Oooh just you wait, we're doing that cuteness contest again tomorrow. And I'm gonna win!"

"Bring it on!"

"You guys are loud," Shinjiro growled, tapping on an object in the game.

"Senpaiiiii," Minako whined, leaning over the couch dangerously far, both with how off-balance she was and how low her hands were going. "You're such a party pooper."

"And _you're_ \--!" He dropped the controller in his lap and caught her around her waist just as she cried out and flipped forward over the couch. "...gonna fall."

"I meant to do that," she grinned, punctuating it with a giggle.

"Right, sure you did." 

"So you gonna put me down or what? I mean I'm not complaining, and you're probably getting a nice view up my skirt, but playing video games involves both hands, stupid~."

"Tch." He set her down somewhat gently, but just rough enough that she bounced slightly on the couch when she landed on her stomach, right on the crease where the cushions met. 

"Hey!" Akihiko protested, scooting back to the far corner of his seat. "This couch is a little too small to have three people crammed into it, you know."

"That's okay~!" Minako chirped, crawling onto Shinjiro's lap just as he picked up the controller. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cuddled into his chest. "This is much more comfy than your stupid couch anyway."

"You're full of shit," Shinjiro muttered, moving Bigby in the game around the chair in the room to the wall in order to examine it. 

"Uh... Shinjiro-san?" Junpei spoke up from the chair he'd planted himself in.

"What."

"Did you go to Toad's house first or something...?" There was slight fear in Junpei's eyes as he spoke.

"Yeah, it seemed a lot more urgent."

"Plus I thought we might be able to stop that bastard who was roughing him up," Akihiko added. "But we got there too late to grab him, it was so disappointing."

"Oh..." Junpei gave them a sheepish smile. "You messed up. You messed up bad."

"What the shit are you talking about?" Shinjiro growled, shooting Junpei a tired glare.

"Well, you see... Prince Lawrence was still alive when you had the choice to go to his house or Toad's."

"He was alive when I got there... well, barely."

"Well, the thing is he doesn't die if you go to his house first, you can stop him from shooting himself the second time."

"Wait, what?!"

"First casualty of the game, Shinjiro-san~."

"GODDAMMIT!"

"IT'S ONLY THE _FIRST_ EPISODE!" Akihiko exclaimed, turning toward Shinjiro. "AND YOU ALREADY FUCKED IT UP!"

"Hey, I told you when we started not to leave me in charge of this shit!"

"You let him die, how could you??"

"SHUT YOUR STUPID FACE!"

"Boys, boys," Minako said, waving her hand before looking at Shinjiro. "Is there anyway you can go back and try again?"

"I don't know," he replied, grumbling something inaudible under his breath.

"You can," Junpei said. "You'll lose progress and it's also kind of cheap to do that, though."

"Well then don't do that, Shinji," Akihiko said. "Sounds a bit like cheating."

"Okay, okay, I'll just play through it," Shinjiro mumbled as he moved Bigby to a closet.

"Aww," Minako cooed, nuzzling her nose into his neck. "Look at you being all cute and pouty."

"I'm not pouting," he growled.

"Yes you are~."

"No."

Minako sat up a bit and wrapped her arms around his head, pressing her chest directly onto his face.

"Mmph!" Shinjiro protested, or tried to, his words muffled by her jacket and boobs.

"Admit it~!" she laughed.

He grabbed around her waist, one hand still holding the controller, and managed to pull his face back enough to get a word out.

"Can't--!" he began, but she squeezed his head to her chest again, causing him to have to squirm to get his face free again. "--breathe!"

"Hey, Shinji, you got quicktime!" Akihiko announced, pointing at the TV.

"What?!" Shinjiro gasped, straining his neck in either direction to try to see the screen around Minako. "I didn't even hit anything to trigger that!"

"Well, you somehow opened the closet and there's a guy running away. Better catch him~."

"Shit!"

He mashed the buttons that popped up on the screen the best he could, but Minako kept either snuggling his face, or purposely moving in front of the screen. Eventually, he had to stick his head over her shoulder and rest his chin on it just to see what he was doing in the game. She still managed to get in the way, however, by licking her tongue in a wide arc up his cheek.

"Agh--what the fuck, Minako!" he yelped, jerking his face away and missing a quick-time event in the process.

"Minako don't distract him!" Junpei exclaimed, motioning at the TV. "They're trying to save Fabletown before it fucks itself into the next dimension!"

"Shut up, Junpei!" she retorted, nuzzling into Shinjiro's hair. "I'm getting my quota of cuddles out of him whether you guys like it or not!"

"Can't you just do that later when everyone's asleep?"

"No."

Akihiko laughed loudly, doubling over and holding his stomach.

"Aki, shut up," Shinjiro growled, swinging his arm in an attempt to smack him, which he dodged, still giggling.

"Hey now, don't aim for my bad arm!" Akihiko mock-whined, holding his left arm with his right hand. "It's sensitive!"

"Then shut up."

"Don't be so upset, you've got a cute girl on your lap."

"Yeahhhh, Shinji~," Minako laughed, tickling his face with her nose. "Be happy I didn't get eaten by a big bad Shadow or anything."

"I'd be a lot happier if I could see what I was doing," Shinjiro muttered, managing to free his face long enough to choose a dialogue option before time ran out.

"It's not like you're playing Mario or something. I just want kissies."

Shinjiro sighed in exasperation, resigning for a moment to give her mouth a quick peck with his lips. He then returned his focus to the game while she cuddled down into his shoulder, finally out of his way.

* * *

An hour or so had passed, and the TV now showed some late night night show about Yokohama-area restuarants. Junpei had gone back to his room after they saved, having done so after the chase scene was over, leaving the remaining three squished onto the two-person couch. Minako was curled up on Shinjiro's lap, having draped herself over his chest and legs and fallen asleep rather quickly. Her red hair lay disheveled, out of its tight updo, her hairclips sitting on the small space of table that wasn't occupied by video games. Shinjiro ran his hand through her hair absently, staring at the TV without actually watching it.

"Think you might have to stay in here tonight?" Akihiko asked suddenly, snapping Shinjiro out of his trance.

"Huh?" Shinjiro grunted, startled.

"I've got extra blankets in the wardrobe over there if you wanted to just crash on the couch."

"Might have to, yeah." He looked down at Minako, who was sound asleep and not bothered at all by the chit-chat. "I don't have the strength to carry her up the stairs, not tonight."

"Or you could just take her next door." Akihiko grinned, even as Shinjiro glared at him. "I mean, your bed would probably be more comfortable than this couch."

"I don't care. It's not like I can move."

"She can't be that heavy."

"You'd be surprised..."

"Whelp, I'll go get a blanket or duvet... or whatever's in there." Akihiko pulled himself to his feet and walked over to the wardrobe set up near his boxing equipment. "I mean, I guess I should've assumed you'd be fine sleeping on a couch since you sleep on concrete benches all the time."

"Hilarious." Shinjiro started the process of slowly trying to pry Minako's arms off of his arms so he could move into a better sleeping position. "I'm surprised Mitsuru hasn't gotten onto me for skipping class again."

"She thinks I'll tell on you," Akihiko replied, wandering back to the couch with a red duvet, covered in a print of what appeared to be cherry blossoms. "But I'm not gonna do that, too much trouble for both of us. I'd rather not face one of her executions for lying to her."

"And my grades are good enough as-is, anyway," Shinjiro replied, taking the duvet from Akihiko. "The teachers at our school are so irritating anyway, since half of them don't even lecture properly. I don't blame Junpei and Minako for sleeping all the time in their classes."

"Well, I'm not too concerned about my grades, either."

"Easy to do when every university with a boxing team wants your ass to box for them." Shinjiro smirked.

"It's not just that. There's not much more I can do to raise them higher than they are now, and besides..." His face turned serious. "There's still the Dark Hour to worry about."

"Yeah, about that," Shinjiro said as he shimmied his way under the duvet, making sure Minako was laying in a comfortable position on top of him. "That entire thing seems off to me for some reason."

"Yeah, same here." Akihiko sat down in the nearby chair, folding his hands in front of him.

"Suddenly these huge Shadows show up, and right when _she_ came to town. There'd been nothing like that before." He stroked his hand through Minako's hair. "Then Ikutsuki tells you guys information that _we_ should've gotten two years ago, and there's the fact that none of those huge Shadows seem to have anything to do with Tartarus."

"I've been thinking that, too. Something's not adding up, especially about what they were really doing with all those Shadows in the first place, like they were trying to accomplish _something_ , and they, for some reason,decided not to tell us what it was."

"Which is suspicious as shit."

"Tell ya what, Shinji." Akihiko stood up, crossing the room and pulling his vest off over his head. "I'll keep an eye on Mitsuru for the next few weeks, and you see if you can keep an eye on the Chairman."

"You think that'll tell us anything?"

"Maybe, I don't really know. But it's worth a shot."

"Right, okay."

"Well, I'm gonna sleep," Akihiko said on a yawn, now standing in just his boxers. "If you two end up doing no-no things, just stay quiet."

"I doubt that'll happen, but fine," Shinjiro sighed, laying back on one of the couch's pillows as Akihiko turned the lights out.


End file.
